American Idol (season 8)
The eighth season of American Idol premiered on January 12, 2022. The season was hosted by Ryan Seacrest. Regional Auditions Auditions were held in Miami, Pittsburgh, New York, Detroit, Denver, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Phoenix. Hollywood week The Hollywood rounds of the audition process were held over four days in November 2020 at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. The first round consisted of each contestant singing one song a capella of their own choosing in front of the judges and all the other contestants. Contestants were then told whether they were moving on or going home, in groups of six. This extended over the first two days. The second round took place on the second and third day, and consisted of groups of three or four contestants choosing, rehearsing, and then performing one of nine pre-selected songs. Groups were reviewed and contestants were then judged individually as to whether they were moving on or going home. The third round took place on the fourth day, and consisted of individual contestants performing a song from a pre-selected list, accompanied by a piano and backup singers. Contestants were again informed of whether they had made the cut or not. Green mile The final pre-audience voting cut down took place at the Pasadena Civic Center on January 12 or 13, 2021, just before the regional audition shows began airing. Without any further auditioning, but possibly with some audience research having taken place, the 40 remaining contestants were reduced to 24. In a process taking a whole day, contestants wait in a sitting room until one by one, they go up an elevator and take a long walk to the other end of the Center's Gold Room. Then the three judges told them whether they have made it onto the stage show or are cut. The 24 semi-finalists were announced February 10, 2022. Semi-finals The semi-finals began on February 15, 2022. There were three shows each week for the three weeks of the semi-finals. The semi-finals featured the contestants (24 total) divided by gender with the 12 male singers singing on Tuesdays and the 12 female singers on Wednesdays. Each person had the chance to select a song to sing live in front of the judges. Following the show's airing, each U.S. timezone would have two hours to vote by phone or by text-messaging. On Thursday, the two of each group with the fewest votes were eliminated each week until the finals. Semi-finalists Females *'Jackie Kerley', 23 years old, auditioned in Los Angeles, and currently resides in Palo Alto, CA. *'Kelly Haras', 22 years old, auditioned in Pittsburgh, and currently resides in Pittston, PA. *'Donna Fitzgerald', 28 years old, auditioned in Pittsburgh, and currently resides in Herndon, MD. *'Kylie Matousek', 23 years old, auditioned in Pittsburgh, and currently resides in St. Louis, MO. *'Elyse Jackson', 27 years old, auditioned in Phoenix, and currently resides in Tucson, AZ. *'Maggie Harriston', 24 years old, auditioned in Phoenix, and currently resides in Houston, TX. Males *'Eli McKinnon', 26 years old, auditioned in Los Angeles, and currently resides in Concord, CA. *'Evan Soto', 19 years old, auditioned in Los Angeles, and currently resides in Salinas, CA. *'Abram Barrera', 29 years old, auditioned in Detroit, and currently resides in Hardwick, VT. *'Nick Pierce', 20 years old, auditioned in Seattle, and currently resides in Portland, OR. *'Kasper Harris', 22 years old, auditioned in New York, and currently resides in New York, NY. *'Keith Edge', 25 years old, auditioned in Phoenix, and currently resides in Lubbock, TX. 'Top 24' Theme: 2010s Females Males 'Top 20' Theme: 2000s Females Males 'Top 16' Theme: 1980s Females Males Finals Finalists The 12 finalists were announced on March 3, 2022. As in past years, the top 12 will appear on the annual compilation album while the top 10 will be the participants in the American Idol summer concert tour. Also as in past years, one finalist was eliminated every week until the final two, where one will be declared the winner. The following is first in reverse chronological order by elimination date, then in alphabetical order by family name, where applicable. *'Carley Fox', 16 years old, auditioned in Miami, and currently resides in Charlotte, NC. *'Dean Roman', 23 years old, auditioned in Phoenix, and currently resides in Harlingen, TX. *'Jake Shannon', 17 years old, auditioned in Denver, and currently resides in Madison, WI. *'Jaleel Jones', 26 years old, auditioned in Pittsburgh, and currently resides in St. Paul, MN. *'Marcus Burke', 28 years old, auditioned in New York, and currently resides in Harrisburg, PA. *'Matt Rasmussen', 24 years old, auditioned in New York, and currently resides in Boston, MA. Rasmussen originally auditioned in season 7 but was cut in the final round in favor of Shane McKnight. *'Mylie Durham', 19 years old, auditioned in Los Angeles, and currently resides in Corona, CA. *'Tracie Brown', 27 years old, auditioned in Denver, and currently resides in Milwaukee, WI. *'Tyler Robinson', 20 years old, auditioned in Phoenix, and currently resides in Los Angeles, CA. Robinson competed on the nineteenth season of The Voice, and made it to the Live Playoffs as a member of Team Blake. *'Kaylee Higgins', 22 years old, auditioned in Seattle, and currently resides in Fremont, CA. On March 24, 2022, Higgins was eliminated from American Idol, placing tenth. *'Michele Hatley', 25 years old, auditioned in Seattle, and currently resides in Englewood, CO. On March 17, 2022, Hatley was eliminated from American Idol, placing eleventh. *'Aurora Benson', 18 years old, auditioned in Detroit, and currently resides in Kansas City, KS. On March 10, 2022, Benson was eliminated from American Idol, placing twelfth. Top 12 – Coldplay Mentor: Chris Martin Top 11 – Country Top 10 – Best of R&B Top 9 – Year They Were Born Elimination chart Note: Bottom 2 indicates that the contestant was 'saved' last. This may or may not indicate his or her actual vote rank. Sometimes, Seacrest will announce that the contestant is in the bottom 2, sometimes he will not.